Speakers: David Morgan, historian and writer, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Father Joe Ryan, Chair of the Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Commission; Barry White, National Union of Journalists representative to the European Federation of Journalists; Michelle Allison, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) UK

Chaired by Evrim Yildiz, SOAS Kurdish Society

Join us for a timely discussion about the recent Turkish municipal elections with two international observers who witnessed the election in Istanbul. This year’s election, which took place on 30 March 2014, was a critical one for the ruling AKP government, whose credibility seriously shaken following the Gezi Park protests last June, corruption scandals in December, and faltering commitment to democratic reform in pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict. While the AKP managed their third victory in a row, in the Kurdish region the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won crucial mayoral victories.

In the last local elections in 2009, the Kurdish political party DTP won 98 councils, which clearly unnerved the AKP government. In response, the party was declared illegal and Kurdish politicians were arrested on an unprecedented scale. Since then, over 10,000 elected officials, lawyers, trade unionists, journalists and human rights defenders have been imprisoned for alleged connections to ‘an illegal organisation’.

Peace in Kurdistan campaign delegates David Morgan and Father Joe Ryan will speak about their three-day visit to Istanbul, where they learned of electricity outages and burned BDP ballots in critical towns in Turkey’s predominately Kurdish southeast, as well as the internationally condemned shut down of social media sites Youtube and Twitter in the days before the vote. They will present an analysis of what the outcome of the election means for the stalled peace process. Has the AKP lost its legitimacy? What do BDP victories in the southeast mean for the democratisation of Turkey? What does the outcome mean for the ongoing peace process with Ocalan and the Kurdish movement?

EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR AFRIN

Life in Afrin

Weekly News Briefing

Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration in London:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”

Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

Freedom for Ocalan!

On the 19th anniversary of his kidnap and imprisonment by Turkey, we renew our call for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed as part of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.